Non-Fiction Notes


Getting Started


Nonfiction material is organized much differently than fiction material.
The way we can derive information effectively from informational books is by using “Text Features.”
Text features help the reader locate information and understand the text.
Some examples of text features are:
indexes
bold
words
captions
labels
charts
graphs
table of contents.



Identifying Nonfiction Features

These features of nonfiction alert the reader that important information is about to be revealed. They
act as signposts.
Fonts and special effects


Bold Face Type

Bullet Points
Italics
Initial Caps
Underline
ALL CAPITAL LETTERS
Larger Text Than the Rest
Quotation Marks
Headings
Sub-headings
Boxed information

Illustrations and photographs
illustration
photograph
graphics.
diagrams
cutaways
cross sections
overlays
maps
word bubbles
tables
charts
graphs
framed text
caption
label

Text Organizersindex
preface
table of contents
timeline or chronology
glossary

appendix

Textual cues
for instance

in fact

in conclusion

most important

but therefore

on the other hand

such as